Improvement in plows



111056 WALKING PLOW. PATENTE 14N 7 ,1871

lllllllll'llllll ik M -MIESSE$ i r NYEMTOPL. ifm@ i UMW/M THOMASHARDING, OF LA FAYETTE, INDIANA.l

Letters Patent No. 111,056, dated January 17, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN PLOWS'.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making parool thesame- To all irliom, `it may concern:

15e it known that Ii Tnoiuas HAninXG, of La Fayette, in the county ofTippecanoe and State of Indiana, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Walking-Flows; and I do hereby declare the following' tobe a t'nll, clear, and exact description ot' the same, reference heilighad to the accompanying draw ing, in wliieh- Figure l is a plan View ofmy invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same,

lvf-jlll'CS 3 und t exhibit the inode of securing the desiredinclination of the standards.

lt is well known that, to secure the inost satisfactory action, it isrequired that the height ot" the` point of draft shall be adjushile` toadapt the niaehine for large or small horses, and also to decrease asmuch as possible the strains upon the frame when the point of dralt isfar removed above the axis ot' the bearing-wheels.

My invention, therefore, consistsin the method of adjusting theheightot` the point of draft by inclining the crank-shaped axle ibrward,and adjusting the angle ofthe tongue thereto, as may be required.

1t further co11sists,'also, in the method ot` const-ruction shown in theaxle, and in the attachment of the drag-bars or plow-beams thereto; inthe method ot' attaching and supporting the plow-beams.

That others may fully understand my invention, I will particularlydscriheit. Y

A is `the tongue, to which the team is attached in the ordinary manner,by double-trees, .&c., the lininnier-strap indicating the point ot'attachment.

B is tho axle, made in thc form of a double crank, and having the wheelsattached at its ends.

The mode ot' construction which I prefer is shown in the drawing. I makecach end ofthe axle oia cast iron plate, i), forming it withlinclosing-langes, e, at its upper end, to receive the end of the woodeninn- 'which i'orms thc cross-piece ofthe axle, and with seveiatsoekets,d, to reeeircihe wrought-iron or steel pills c f, upon which the wheelsturn and the plowhezuns nre attached.`

rlhe axle is in this way constructed with great strength in proportionto the amount of inaterialem- Iployed, and the several sockets d (lpermit an adjustment of the pins up or down.

The axle B is made cylindrical at its central part, as shown in thesect-ion iig. 2, andthe tongue A is attached to the' axle by means oi' astrap, D, or other equivalent means, to form a joint at that pointcapable of'permitiiug a relativeinotion of tongue and axle.

lt will appear evident that the height of the tongue abovcthe ground maybe raised at pleasure by permitting the axle B to incline, more or lessforward, as, when the parts B are upright, the tongue would be at itsgreatest elevation, and adapted to cultivate corn of considerableheight; and, when the axle-piece L should he inclined forward so as tobe horizontal, the tongue would be quite nearthe ground, and theVdraftstrain would be direct upon the plow-beams. This latter is anextreme adjustment, and will be seldom or never needed.

The desired relative positions 0f tongue and axle may bc preserved bymeans of braces E E', or other convenient means, an'dfif said braces areemployed, they may be adjusted by means of holes g g i'n the tongue.

The braces E are attachedto the cast-pieces b, by means. of the\vheel-spinilie"e,' and therefore a part ot' the draft-strain isbroughtalmost direotlyto the wheelaxle pins ce.

The pins f are extended toward the middle of the axle far enough toreceive the draw-plates F, andthe i'nner ends are supported by thebrackets G and braces The plates F are employed so that the draft-pointot' the plow-beams H can be shifted to or from the center of thc axle tomake the plowsrun more or less near to the row of plants. Several holes,7L, are

therefore made inl the plate F at the forward end of the plow-beams H. AT-head plate, it, is secured, and the coupling-bolt t passes throughsaid T-head and through the plate F, and attaches the plow-beam to theaxle;

It will be observed that the plates F are capable of motion in avertical direction upon the bolts fas eenters, and that the plowbeams Hare capable of horizontal motion upon the bolts i, as centers, while thelateral extensions of the T-heads will prevent any undue rocking motionoi' the plows.

The plow-standards J are secured to the sides of the plow-beanis H bymeans of bolts q, which pass through both beam and standard, and eachstandard is set off at the proper distance bythe block m which isinterposed. These blocks are made so as to present a long foot incontact with the beam, as shownin figs.

1 and 3. No string-brace will then be required to support the outsideofthe standard. 1 It is desirable to give the shovels a lateraladjustment, so that they may be set a little further out or" insomt-imes, as may be desired, and the washer r, thicker upon one edgethan at the other, isinterposed between the block m and the standard,and, by shifting the position of the lthin edge of said washer, thedesired inclination may be; given to the standard.

5'. The braces Kv pass through the center of the standards J near theirlower ends, and thus secure a central draftfor the shovels. The frontends of said braces are bolted to the plowlbeam in the usual way.

The plow-handles M are set off toward the walking side, as is usual, toenable lthe driver to walk at one side of the row of plants, and manageboth plows.

conveniently.

When the apparatus is to be transported from place -to place, it isnecessary to elevate the plows and mainthe plows, as shown in dottedlines in fig. 2.

Having deseribednxy invention, What I claim as new is- 1. The axle B,constructed withthe Cast-iron cud pieces b l), when Said end pieces areprovided with sockets d d and flanges c c, for the purposes described,and the wooden cross-bar, as set forth. l

2. In a straddle-row cultivator, the draft-pole A and a. doublecrank-axle B, when jointed together substantially as described, so thatsaid draft pole and axle can be adjusted iu height, for the purpose setforth.

`3. The combination of the double-crank axle B, tongue A, jointedthereto by means of the strap D, and the braces E, for the purpose ofadjustment, as set forth.

THOMAS HARDING.

Witnesses:

JOHN LEVERING, ELI N. COOPER.

